Anna Polietaieva

“Carthage faculty have been one of my main supporters on my journey. They have helped me understand not only the subject they are teaching, but also what I want to pursue and showed me that there is a world of endless opportunities.”

“My favorite class at Carthage so far has been BIO 1110 Molecules, Cells, and Organisms. Professor Sam DeCero has been an incredible professor, and I was able to learn so much. He thought of ways to best engage students and let us come to conclusions ourselves. One of the best parts of this class was the lab work. Exploring bacteriophages was fascinating and doing research of this type has helped me understand what I want to do in the future.”

“My toughest class so far has been BIO 3450 Bioinformatics: Phage Hunters II. This class follows up on the lab work we have done in BIO 1110 and continues researching bacteriophages using various bioinformatics tools. Professor Deborah Tobiason has been incredibly helpful and was always there for us if we had questions. Even though this class was challenging, as it was an upper-level class, I thoroughly enjoyed it. The most challenging part was the amount of work that had to be done in such a short period.”

“In my first year at Carthage, I have been trying to get involved in various clubs and organizations. Amongst them were the LGBTQ*SA, Book Club, Horticulture Club, Planned Parenthood Generation Action, and Weightlifting Club. I loved the sense of community these organizations bring. Getting involved on campus is one of the best ways to meet new people at Carthage.”

“During J-Term of my freshman year, I worked on creating a new student organization called Women in STEM. Hearing from peers in my cohort that they weren’t being supported as a minority in the STEM area has encouraged me to create a space for everyone interested.”

“My favorite spot on campus is probably the basement of the David A. Straz Jr. Center. My friends and I have spent every other lunch there when we had a break in between classes. It’s quiet, spacious, and has a great lake view!”

“One of my favorite Carthage memories was the first week of freshman year. It was full of different events and activities. My friends were getting together every day, and I was the most involved during that time.”

“Find a partner to study with! It has helped me so much in studying for my finals last semester. Ask each other questions, ponder, and think about what else could you add.”

“Get involved! Go to all the events at the beginning of the year and meet people. Ask someone in your class if they want to study together. Meet the neighbors on your floor and invite them to lunch.”